


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by KatieComma



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, But with a happy ending i promise, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Open Relationships, Polyamory, Soooo much angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21707548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieComma/pseuds/KatieComma
Summary: NOTE: NOT part of the Mac + Jack + Nick verse I usually write in - this is a standalone AUIn another life, Mac and Jack have never met... never served together...And yet, the universe conspires when they're snowed in at an airport together.Trouble is, they both already have someone expecting them for the holidays.
Relationships: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016)/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)/Nick Stokes
Comments: 16
Kudos: 35





	I'll Be Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nevcolleil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevcolleil/gifts).



> It needs to be said that Nev's request was so specific that this thing practically wrote itself... honestly m'dear, you pretty much deserve a writing credit on this because it's entirely your idea. I hope I did it justice.
> 
> Thank you to Orianess for beta reading this for me, and for EPIC help on the Summary and Title! You're a doll!!!
> 
> ALSO: This DOES NOT take place in the MacDaltonStokes universe I created and usually write in... this one is a beautiful monster all on its own.

Mac should have never agreed to visit Frankie just before Christmas. That’s where everything went wrong. Now he stood at an airport gate counter, looking at a notice that said his flight was delayed. Again. Waiting patiently as he could at the counter, hoping for an update from one of the airline staff, he tapped his boarding pass on the counter top, irritated.

“Excuse me!” He called out as one of the gate attendants walked past him again. She didn’t even look up before she picked up the little phone on the wall and started talking with someone.

Annoying Christmas music jingled overhead. Usually Mac loved the holidays, but he’d had a long frustrating day and he’d heard the same songs on loop for most of it. He waited for the girl to get off the phone, trying to meet her eye, but to no avail.

“It’s no use,” a twangy voice came from the bank of seats to the right of the airline counter.

Mac turned his attention to the man who was slumped in one of the chairs, flanked by a family with a baby and a young couple who both had their headphones in and were tapping at their phones. He was rugged-looking, salt and pepper in his scruff and the little faux hawk he sported. He wore an old worn Metallica t-shirt and black skinny jeans, leather cuff on his wrist, old leather jacket thrown over the duffle at his feet.

“What’s no use?” Mac asked, irritated by the interruption.

“Gettin’ her attention,” the man answered with a drawl the size of Texas. “I’ve tried and she’s got tighter lips’n the CIA. Ain’t gonna get no information from her that ain’t already up on that board.” The guy pointed up to the screen that read “Delayed” in annoying big red letters.

“Well, what else do you suggest I do?” Mac asked. He turned back to the counter and found the woman had finished her call and disappeared again. “Just great,” he sighed.

“I told you, you weren’t gettin’ anything out of her anyway,” the guy said.

“What do you care?” Mac snapped. This layover was turning him into a total jerk. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s been…”

“A long day?” The guy asked.

Mac just nodded.

“Yeah, me too,” he huffed.

There wasn’t much point in standing at the counter if nobody was going to talk to him. “Well, good luck,” Mac said with a small wave to the guy.

“Yeah, you too hoss,” the stranger replied.

Mac walked away, feeling eyes on him; but he was in an airport full of people stranded at Christmastime. Of course people were watching him. 

Mac rubbed his hand back through his hair and tried to find a place to sit. Every seat was occupied. The moment he’d stood up from his spot, a woman with two small children had moved in. Mac wasn’t angry with her, she needed the space more than he did. He’d rather be sitting on the floor somewhere than deprive this poor woman and her kids a comfortable place.

Instead of finding a not-so-comfortable piece of floor, Mac wandered back to the restaurant area. If the status board was to be believed he had a few more hours to kill, at least, before his flight left to Vegas. No sense in going hungry, or thirsty. He found a cozy looking bar and grill and settled into a table.

Jack’s butt hurt from sitting. He was so tired of sitting that he couldn’t see straight. All he wanted in the world was to be in Vegas already, walking the strip with Nicky; checking out all the cool Christmas decorations and lights. Instead he was stuck in Boston Logan International Airport with no way to get across the country but to wait for a flight that looked like it might never leave the ground.

A freak snowstorm had grounded all the planes in Boston for almost a day. The airlines were starting to catch up, but it was taking time. Each time Jack started to get mad, he thought about the parents with little kids that were stranded too, some of them for much longer than Jack. What a nightmare that would be, and then he relaxed a little again.

He shifted to his right butt cheek on the hard bench seat, but realized that he’d only just shifted away from that side less than ten minutes before and it still hurt. And then the same rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” that he’d heard about fifty million times came over the speaker directly above his head.

“Screw this,” he mumbled to himself, grabbing his jacket and bag from the floor and heading toward the restaurants. The moment he stood up, someone rushed from the floor to take his seat. “You can have it,” Jack said to himself.

He hadn’t intended to sit down anywhere, just wanting to walk and restore some blood flow to his legs, but the smell coming from the bar and grill was too much and he realized he hadn’t eaten since lunch and it was getting on night time. He wandered inside and noted that every single table was full. What a mess. You’d think they’d be more prepared for people being snowed-in at the Boston airport.

“I’m sorry sir,” one of the waiters stopped on his way by. “We’re full up. But there are a few people sitting alone. You could ask if they wouldn’t mind sharing a table?”

Jack glanced around at the tables with single occupants, turning on his CIA people-reading skills to determine the best candidate for a quiet companion: woman in her early forties, dressed pretty nice, looking a little emotional and teary eyed; nope, next! A young girl, maybe late teens/early twenties, probably flying home for Christmas from college, on a video call on her phone making kissy faces; definitely no, gross. A man in his early sixties, nursing a glass of something amber-coloured and not eating; he’d wanna chat and tell stories for hours, Jack could just see it in his glazed eyes. The last single table was tucked away in the corner: the blonde guy he’d talked to at the departure gate. He was focused on his laptop, intently focused. The kind of focus that wouldn’t brook conversation or anything but silent companionship.

Jack made his way to the table. “Hey dude,” he said softly, trying to cut into the guy’s concentration just enough to get a seat.

“Yeah?” The guy asked, glancing up for half a second before looking back at his screen. Then he looked up again and focused on Jack. “Hey, you’re the guy from the gate…”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, I just…” He motioned around at the bar. “Place is full up. You mind if I share your table?”

The blond looked around like he hadn’t even noticed that he was surrounded by people. “Oh, yeah. Course.” He shifted his laptop bag off the tabletop, setting it on the bench next to him.

Jack sat down and his southern manners kicked in when his mother scolded him in his head for not introducing himself immediately. He reached out a hand. “Jack.”

The guy smiled, and holy hell Jack just about had a heart attack under that gaze. The blue eyes punched a hole right through him, and the smile itself was so wide and generous Jack almost missed the guy’s name. “Mac.”

“Mac?” Jack asked.

“My last name’s MacGyver,” he said, “it’s what everyone calls me.”

Jack didn’t ask his first name, it felt like crossing a line.

“Well Mac, good to meet ya,” Jack said. “Sorry if I was being a bit of a dick back there at the gate. Long, frustrating day.”

Mac sighed heavy. “Yeah, me too.” Something sad and sentimental sparked in his eyes as he looked away back to his screen. But then he brought his gaze back to Jack, almost hesitantly. “You headed back home for the holidays?”

Jack smiled wide, thinking of Nicky waiting for him in Vegas. “Closest thing I got to home these days,” Jack said.

“Ah, a sweetheart,” Mac replied with a knowing grin. “In Vegas?” Since they’d been cued up at the same flight counter, naturally Mac knew where he was headed.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. That was about as far as he wanted to push that conversation. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being with Nicky, but you never knew with strangers. The nicest most liberal-seeming people were some of the biggest homophobes. Jack had run into it too many times. And the last thing he wanted was more frustration.

“Me too,” Mac admitted. “First Christmas together.”

“Really?” Jack asked. “So you live in Boston then?”

Mac shook his head. “No, I just came to visit a friend before the rest of my holidays. Turns out that was the worst idea I’ve ever had. And I’ve had some really terrible ideas.” He laughed softly and man that laughter turned Jack’s stomach in the best way. He was so handsome, he almost glowed with it. Jack just felt drawn to him.

“So, Vegas is home?” Jack asked. Why was he still pushing this when all he’d wanted was a table to sit and eat quietly at?

“Actually no,” Mac said, “LA is home. I’m spending Christmas with someone too. I don’t have any family left, so it’s that or stay home alone.”

“Someone special in Vegas for everybody,” Jack said with a grin as the waiter finally approached and took his order.

The conversation dipped after the interruption, Mac returned to his computer and Jack pulled out the old Louis L'Amour novel he’d brought for his travels. He’d read it twice through already but he didn’t mind, it was one of his favourites; two men trying to stay alive together in a frozen Montana winter. He'd always read it a bit like a love story. And the descriptions of harsh winter in Montana reminded him of Christmas at his uncle's ranch up that way.

Once Jack’s food came it just got awkward. Jack put his novel down to dig into the messy burger, which meant he just stared at the wall next to Mac.

“So, what were you doing in Boston?” Mac asked, finally breaking the silence that had grown between them.

“I was just here for work,” Jack said, almost biting his tongue that he hadn’t thought up a better excuse on the spot.

“Oh yeah?” Mac turned toward him, his attention fully focused, those intense blue eyes seemed to pierce right down to his core. “What do you do?”

Jack pretended his mouth was too full to talk and he chewed slowly before he made a show of swallowing. He had his alibi all ready, but there was something about Mac that made him not want to lie. He took a sip of his beer and finally answered. “I’m a bathroom tile salesman.”

Mac’s eyebrows crinkled, and Jack could swear he saw disappointment in Mac’s eyes. “Really?”

“Yup,” Jack answered, “big contract for a new office building and they sent the best man for the job.” God he had the worst cover. And he’d just met Mac, but holy hell he didn’t want the guy to be disappointed in him at all.

“I’m sure they did,” Mac answered.

“So, what is it you do?” Jack asked, biting into his burger again to avoid talking about his stupid ass cover any more.

“I, uh,” Mac looked back at his laptop like it might answer for him. “I work for a think tank.”

“A think tank?” Jack asked. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Well, I basically have ideas for a living,” he said. “People ask for our help with all kinds of problems. Some big, some small. And we… think it through and find a solution. Most of the time.”

Jack’s CIA spidey-sense kicked in. Mac wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Something was missing. But Jack didn’t mind. It was just a friendly chat in an airport after all, and Jack wasn’t telling the whole truth either. “That sounds super boring dude,” Jack confided.

“No, it’s not at all,” Mac leaned in, excitement lighting up his beautiful icy blue eyes. “We deal with some really cool stuff. Last year, for example, there were these students trapped on an Arctic research ship. There was an explosion in the engine room that killed several of the crew and the captain, and we had to find a way to stop them taking on too much water until rescue. I had to give instructions to the teacher and her students to help them seal off the damaged sections of the ship with only what they had on board. Everyone got out alive.” 

Excited and passionate Mac was something to see, and Jack couldn’t help but lean in closer and listen. It wasn’t just that the guy was attractive (but, hot damn!) it was something else drawing Jack; like there was a string around his insides pulling him closer to Mac that felt like butterflies and first loves.

“Ok, that actually sounds really badass man,” Jack said. “And I can appreciate using what you can get your hands on. You would’a been some kinda useful in the army, I can tell you.” Jack nodded and leaned back. He hadn’t realized he’d leaned that far forward. He took another bite of burger to cover his growing attraction to Mac.

“The army?” Mac asked, closing his laptop and pushing it aside. “You were in the army?”

Jack just nodded, mouth full of food.

“Me too,” Mac replied. “I mean… I didn’t really fight or anything… but I did what I could. What I’m good at.”

Jack almost choked on the mouthful before he swallowed. “Awesome dude! Were you deployed?”

“Afghanistan,” Mac admitted, face going a little more solemn. “EOD tech.”

Jack laughed aloud and clapped the table, drawing the attention of the sullen old man with the glass of liquor next to them. “No way dude, what a coincidence! I was EOD overwatch in the sandbox. What a small world.”

“Seriously,” Mac said with a grin. “Crazy. When were you there?”

“2011 into 2012,” Jack said.

It was Mac’s turn to laugh. “Oh man. If circumstances were different, you never know, we might have worked together.”

“Holy shit,” Jack said, pushing his plate aside and forgetting his meal altogether. The guy probably wasn’t even gay, and was on his way to spend time with a sweetheart, but Jack was more drawn to him by the second. Something about them just fit. And Jack was having a hard time ignoring the attraction.

“Holy shit,” Mac repeated Jack’s words more softly.

The waiter interrupted again, and Jack almost wanted to slap the guy. Worst timing ever.

Not that it made any sense that Jack was getting his hopes up. Mac had someone to head back to, and Jack was going to meet Nicky.

It was still strange to Jack, to be with Nicky and still look at other people this way and not feel guilty. Before Nick he’d been a monogamous kind of guy. But Nick and Jack’s relationship wasn’t really… normal. Jack lived in LA, and worked for the CIA, which sometimes still meant deep cover. Nick wouldn’t leave Vegas, his little found family was there. So it wasn’t really fair to ask Nick to wait around for Jack for months on end while he was off galavanting and maybe even sleeping with marks for intel. They’d decided early on to have an open relationship. It only seemed fair. Nick had agreed, but only on the condition that Jack comply and not feel guilt about attraction or hook ups; Jack had to feel he was entitled to see other people if he wanted as well. The one rule was that they always talked about it. And if anything got more serious with someone else, they would both be involved.

Which is exactly why Jack was headed to Vegas. Other than spending Christmas with Nicky, which they’d always done the past couple years they’d been together, Nick had a new man in his life: Angus. Jack had ragged on the name immediately to Nick over the phone, and knew that the first time he met Angus he was going to rib the guy about it. It would be a good test of the guy’s humour at the very least.

But Mac was also heading to meet someone else. Be with someone else. And spending Christmas with someone was no little matter. You didn’t just spend Christmas with any person; the people you spent Christmas with were meaningful. Which meant Mac was off the market.

Jack wasn’t even listening when Mac ordered something from the waiter, he was too distracted by trying to convince himself that love at first sight just wasn’t real. Or if it was, it wasn’t an option for him. He was just tired from the long day, and distracted by a pretty face. That was all.

The waiter looked at them questioningly. Mac ordered two more drinks for both of them, and asked that they both be put on his tab. He looked to Jack to see if he wanted anything else, but the guy was totally lost in thought; not good thoughts from the looks of it. His brows were creased in worry and he was staring hard at the dirty tabletop between his fingertips.

“You alright man?” Mac asked, reaching out and resting his hand on Jack’s just for a moment. He realized he’d overstepped and pulled it back like he’d been shocked. He just couldn’t help it. Something about Jack begged for Mac’s closeness. It was like fighting a current and he’d stopped swimming for just a moment and gotten carried away.

Jack jolted at the touch of Mac’s fingertips. “Yeah, sorry,” Jack said, tapping his temple, “been a long day and I just got a little lost up here.”

“If you wanted to go find a place to sleep or something, don’t stay on my account,” Mac said in the kindest voice he could offer. He didn’t want Jack to go. Their conversation just flowed naturally, and he’d been alone all day in the airport surrounded by other people lost in their own worlds. It was nice to break into someone else’s world and share it for a while.

It didn’t hurt that Jack had some sort of magnetic pull for Mac. His face was handsome, creased in a way he’d only seen in other people who’d been in combat. Not just creased with years, but also worry and bad things seen and not forgotten. Mac wanted to trace those lines with his fingertips.

“Naw,” Jack said. “I’m good. Just gettin’ to know a fellow veteran, right?” Jack held up his mostly empty pint glass and they clicked their glasses before they each emptied them just in time for the next round to show up.

“On me,” Mac said, assuming Jack had missed the conversation with the waiter.

“Thanks man,” Jack said, and smiled; it wasn’t the unflappable handsome showy smile from earlier. It was earnest and serious. A smile that left Jack’s beautiful brown eyes wide and open, the look in them vulnerable like he was giving a piece of himself to Mac. Those eyes. Mac could stare at them all day long and never get tired. Deep and emotional and - 

Nick. He was going to see Nick. This was no time for him to be fawning over some handsome guy he’d met at the airport. Although, Nick had been honest from the start that he was in an open relationship. Mac was actually headed to spend Christmas with Nick and his long-term boyfriend JW. Another good reason not to impulsively get goo goo over some random guy. He already had a new guy to meet and get to know in Vegas.

Jack’s voice broke his thoughts into little pieces. “-face for?”

“Huh?” Mac replied, feeling less than clever and charming.

“What’s the face for?” Jack asked. “You looked like you were somewhere else there for a minute.”

“Yeah,” Mac looked down at the table, at Jack’s big callused hands resting on the table and wondered what they would feel like - wow! Long day for sure with thoughts like that taking over without permission. “Sorry,” he focused on talking instead. “It’s just been a long day. Concentration’s a bitch you know?”

“I feel that,” Jack said, “I’ll admit I’ve been leanin’ on some of my old sniper skills to keep awake today. It ain’t my favourite thing to fall asleep in the middle of a group of civilians. Know what I mean?”

“I haven’t been able to,” Mac admitted. “Just doesn’t feel…”

“Safe,” they said at the same time before their eyes met again; and held for way too long to be appropriate even between friends let alone new acquaintances.

“Which is funny,” Jack broke the silence, “considering some of the places I’ve fallen asleep. It’s just… different when you’re surrounded by people you trust I guess.”

Mac just nodded and took a drink of his beer, reluctantly pulling his eyes away from Jack.

“Oh man, I’ve got a good one for you,” Jack said, “my man Deacon used to be able to sleep anywhere. We were Delts together. And the guy was insane. I actually saw him sleep on a tree branch once that couldn’t have been wider around than my wrist. Right? But this one time…”

And Jack launched into a story about Deacon that ended with the guy sleeping in a hammock with no pants, that had Mac just about rolling on the floor laughing.

“Holy shit no way!” Mac said at the end, grabbing Jack’s bare forearm for emphasis and shaking it a little. His skin was hot and soft, the hair on his forearm tickling at Mac’s fingers.

Jack wasn’t phased by the touch, he even seemed to lean closer to Mac and become more animated.

“Dude! I’m tellin’ you it’s the god’s honest truth!” Jack laughed. “Ftizy even got a picture.” He sat back in his chair, out of Mac’s reach; his fingers slipped off of Jack’s hot skin. Was he hot everywhere? Mac wanted to find out so badly.

“I was never with a group like that,” Mac admitted. “I never really made a ton of friends in the service.”

“EOD is different man,” Jack said. “When you’re with the Delts, you build a team and you’re with those guys all the time. Get to know ‘em better than their wives. But EOD is just you and overwatch out scouting. It’s totally different than havin’ a crew of guys around like that.”

Mac did understand though. He had a crew, a little found family of his own. One he couldn’t say anything about. Sure, the story about Zoe and the ship was true; they still did actual Think Tank work to keep up their cover, and with his skills, sometimes Mac was the guy for that. But Mac was more than just a nerd in a lab sitting at a desk and figuring out how to seal up ship doors with makeshift heat-triggered expanding putty. He was a spy; running ops all around the world.

It had felt weird lying to Jack from the start. Something about the way they talked, it just felt wrong to hold anything back. He wanted to give Jack his dossier and let him in on the secret. And that was weird for Mac. He liked to keep his secrets close. He didn’t want people to know everything, but for some reason Jack was different. He couldn’t explain it in any way, but he was absolutely captivated and drawn to Jack in a way he’d never experienced before. Sure he loved Nick, and falling for Nick had been just as intense, but it was different.

“Makes sense,” Mac attempted to rejoin the conversation without being too awkward about the silence he’d left after Jack’s last comment. “I can see that. I was never really close with any of my overwatch. Just with my CO. But he…” Mac looked down at his hands, fiddling with his glass.

Jack reached out and took Mac’s hand into his own. His callused fingers were gentle and big and strong. Grounding. “I get you,” Jack said. “I’ve lost some guys over the years. Not just to war but… what comes after. It’s tough.”

Mac looked up and tried a smile, failing miserably. His exhaustion was bringing out a million emotions in him. Or maybe it was Jack. He felt his eyes getting hot, and to his surprise it was reflected in Jack’s misty eyes. Mac squeezed his hand and wanted more than anything to interlace their fingers and pull Jack into a hug. He stayed content squeezing his fingers tightly.

Jack could see Mac was fighting something. There was emotion ready to spill out of him. It was strange but Jack understood. He wanted to share everything with Mac for no reason that made any sense. No reason at all actually. Just an instinct that Mac was a kindred spirit, and something more than that, it seemed. Their fingers were still clutched tightly together and Jack never wanted to let go.

“Excuse me,” a voice cut into their moment brutally like a gunshot.

Jack and Mac jumped apart guiltily.

The waiter with the worst timing in the history of the damn world had returned.

Jack wanted to snap at him, but instead he looked up with what he could muster of a smile for the guy who had just shattered the moment he was having with Mac. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“We’re closing in ten minutes,” the waiter said. “I just need you to settle up.”

“Closing?” Mac asked. “Are you serious? But we’re stuck here for another three hours at least.”

“I’m sorry guys,” the waiter looked genuinely sorry, but also glad to be done what was probably a long and hellish shift. “We don’t have clearance to stay open past normal hours. Gotta shut down.” He passed them each a slip, and offered the machine for payment.

Mac paid with a card, Jack left cash. Cash was his standard method of payment when on an op. Cash wasn’t traceable. Cash was silent.

They swallowed down the rest of their drinks as quickly as they could without gagging on the beer. Jack waited until Mac got his laptop packed up, and they walked out together. He wasn’t sure why he’d waited; they weren’t really together, they’d just shared a table and a few stories. But they walked side by side through the airport, watching the rest of the shops shut down around them, closing big metal gates and shutting off lights.

“This sucks,” Mac breathed out. “Everything’s closed. Every available outlet in this place is being used. So I don’t even want to use my phone or laptop more than I need to.”

“What say we find a place to try and get some shut eye?” Jack asked, before he realized just how flirtatious it sounded. So he tried to cover: “Now that you’ve gotta a sergeant watching your back, think you could manage some sleep?” He winked, and then internally scolded himself. A wink was the most flirtatious thing he could have done, but damn if it didn’t come so easy when he was with Mac.

“Sergeant, huh?” Mac said with a grin. “Well, with a sergeant watching my back I could probably sleep through world war three. Let’s give it a go.”

Jack’s heart settled back into his chest and let his gaze linger on Mac’s eyes that seemed to sparkle with something flirtatious too. All he wanted in the world in that moment was to slip his fingers between Mac’s and pull him close, push him against a wall, press their bodies together and kiss him so long they passed out from lack of airflow. His eyes flicked down to Mac’s lips and man they looked like they’d be real good for kissing.

Mac looked away, and Jack faded back to reality, almost forgetting that he wasn’t holding Mac’s hand. Jack was losing it, he was sure of that.

When they reached the boarding area, the flight still only showed being delayed for another three hours. And every possible seat in the place was taken, some by more than one person. Most floorspace against a wall was also occupied.

They found a little hallway leading to some storage closets, and settled against the wall near the end. Mac magically found an outlet that wasn’t in use and plugged in his devices, but left them closed.

They sat against the wall, side by side, shoulders touching. Mac felt sturdy beside him, and even though there were a few other people in the hallway, it was private enough that it made Jack want to reach out for him, touch him, hold him. All he could think about was Mac’s lips; they looked soft. And how good would his eyes look heavily lidded with excitement?

Jack shook his head.

“You ok man?” Mac asked. “You seem a little out of it.”

“Just tired,” Jack said.

“Think you can sleep with a Specialist watching your back?” Mac asked with a grin that lifted one corner of his mouth a little higher than the other and spread it wider than a football field.

“We’ll see,” Jack returned the grin.

Without another word, they settled in shoulder to shoulder, leaned back against the wall and let their eyes close. Jack had slept much worse places. It wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t the worst he’d seen.

“Jack?” Mac whispered, a tremor in his voice.

“Yeah, Mac?” Jack asked, flopping his head toward the sound, but not opening his eyes which were suddenly glued closed with exhaustion.

“You’re still gonna be here when I wake up, right?” Mac asked.

“Course,” Jack said with conviction. He wouldn’t dare just take off and leave the poor guy sleeping alone in some hallway. “A’course man.” He reached out to blindly pat Mac’s shoulder, but missed and put his hand on Mac’s chest instead.

Mac reached up and covered Jack’s hand with his own to hold it in place. Despite his wildly beating heart, sleep pulled Jack down.

Mac’s phone dinged loudly. The alarm he’d set. He opened his eyes, reached down beside his hip and silenced the alarm. When he looked back up he was surprised to see Jack had slept through the awful dinging of the alarm. His hand was still on Mac, but had slipped from his chest down to his waist, and he’d turned into Mac, curling toward him a little, his head on Mac’s shoulder. Jack’s breath skated over Mac’s shirt to sneak down the front of his collar and mist his skin with moisture.

Mac’s entire body was on fire instantly, arousal surging through him at the intimate position they were in. He didn’t want to move for the world, because the moment Jack woke up he would back away from Mac, taking his heat with him. That heat, like a furnace everywhere he touched Mac.

Mac sat back against the wall and picked up his phone, checking the airline app to see about their flight status. Still on time, ready to board any minute.

Mac sighed. Of course he’d spent most of the stupid annoying day wandering around alone and he’d only met Jack right near the end. 

Not that anything would or should happen. Not with Nick waiting patiently for him in Vegas, ready to show him a real Christmas. Beautiful Nick. The thought sent a different, more settled, but just as volatile warmth shooting through Mac’s body. Nick’s warm eyes, and firm lips. The way he talked about science with Mac for hours on end while they curled up together on the couch watching Animal Planet. His gentle but sure touch. Handfuls of Nick’s soft hair between Mac’s fingers, tugged gently. He really couldn’t wait to see Nick again. It had been too long since they’d last gotten together. Too long since they’d held each other, shared a bed, kissed for hours on end.

Why was the universe so cruel, to provide Mac with something like Jack, when Nick was waiting for him at the other end? He wanted both. Why couldn’t he have both? He knew that he could. Nick had said “open relationship” so many times it had almost lost meaning for Mac. He could ask for Jack’s number. They could maybe see each other? But Jack didn’t even know Mac was into guys. Mac didn’t know if Jack was. And Jack had someone to go home to. The way he’d said it, it had sounded long term. Mac couldn’t be that person, not when he had someone else too.

Jack’s hand slipped away, and he sat up. “Whatimeisit?” He slurred, rubbing his face with the hand that had been resting on Mac.

“Flight’s about to start boarding,” Mac said. “We should get moving.”

Jack made a noise of frustration. “C’mon mama, just five more minutes.”

Mac surprised himself with a laugh. “Alright, come on dude,” he said, gathering his phone and laptop. “Time to go.”

Jack made another noise, but grabbed his bag and jacket and slowly pushed himself to his feet.

They stood at the gate together, waiting for their boarding zone to be called.

“So…” Jack drew the word out so long Mac thought it might never end. Which was fine with him.

“Yeah,” Mac answered.

Jack pulled out his phone. “I mean, I feel like we’ve really gone through the ringer together,” Jack said, handing the phone to Mac. It was open to add a new contact. “What say we keep in touch?”

Mac smiled, grabbed the phone, and quickly typed his info in before handing it back. He took his own phone out: “Yours too.”

Jack complied.

“Zone B is now boarding. That’s rows seven through fourteen, now boarding.”

“That’s me,” Jack admitted, holding up his ticket almost like Mac would want proof.

“Yeah, for sure,” Mac said, trying for casual and failing miserably. “Have fun with your… sweetheart.” The word almost choked him.

Jack’s eyes went distant, like he was thinking of his girl, and a smile lit up his face. “You bet. And you too. Hope your first Christmas together goes well.”

“It will,” Mac assured him.

“Ok, well, keep in touch dude,” Jack said holding out his hand.

Mac shook it and impulsively pulled him into a one-armed hug. It felt so right. So good to have Jack pressed against his chest. But it was short lived as Jack pulled away.

“Good to meet you Mac,” Jack said, and there was that earnest smile again that Mac had seen the day before. The one that bared so much emotion.

“You too Jack.”

And then Jack walked away, and Mac watched him lineup without looking back, show his ticket, and board the plane.

Mac ached as soon as Jack was out of sight. But it was stupid. He’d just met the guy a couple hours ago. He was just overtired and being silly.

As soon as his zone was called, he boarded the plane. He had to walk past Jack, who was already settled, eyes closed, and looked dead asleep with this fingers laced together in his lap. Mac couldn’t help but remember the feel of that hand on his chest, on his waist and he shuddered a little as he shuffled toward the back of the plane, passing Jack as though he were any other stranger.

Mac settled into his seat between a little old lady with a lapdog in a bag under the seat in front of her, and a tall gangly guy who couldn’t help but creep into Mac’s space as he tried to fold his limbs to fit coach.

Mac let his mind wander to seeing Nick in Vegas. And then to meeting JW. Who would this guy be? Would they get along? Nick seemed to think so. But Mac was daunted. Nick and JW had been together for a long time. An open relationship the whole time, but they really cared about each other. Who was Mac in that equation?

And then his mind was drawn back to Jack again. Jack, who was sitting half a plane ahead of him. Whose hands had touched him, whose skin was hot and soft, who wore his heart on his sleeve in the best possible way.

He’d hoped to sleep for the six hour flight, but instead his mind wandered back and forth from Nick to JW to Jack. He’d hoped Jack would get up to use the bathroom, and walk by, but he never did. 

It was useless. They’d said their goodbyes. That was it. They both had people. They weren’t for each other.

When the plane landed and stopped at the gate in Vegas, Mac sat up tall trying to watch for Jack. Wanting to see him one last time. But everyone else stood up and blocked his view. They all slowly filed out through the small aisle, and he didn’t get another glance at Jack.

Even when he sped up walking toward baggage claim, he didn’t see Jack. He was being foolish anyway. Lovesick little puppy who just hadn’t had enough sleep. That’s all it was.

Finally, when Jack didn’t come into sight, Mac slowed his walk and turned his mind to Nick. Nick was what was important. Nick loved him, and he loved Nick. They fit together so well. So he tried to forget Jack and focus on Nick instead. Jack was gone, a little crush, Nick was real and loved him back.

Afloat in the sea of people grateful to finally have gotten to Vegas, Mac wandered to baggage claim. He finally remembered to connect his phone to the network, and a text from Nick buzzed in immediately:  
 _Waiting for you at luggage. See you soon._

Nick had said he’d be checking the updated flight info. And Mac was so grateful he didn’t have to take a cab. All he wanted was to crawl into bed with Nick and sleep for a solid day.

He exited the secured area, and wandered out into the baggage carousel area, looking for his flight number. He found it and started wandering around looking for Nick.

“Angus!” The voice carried, full of Texas lilt. Similar to Jack’s accent, Mac suddenly connected, but so different. “Angus! Over here!”

Mac turned and found Nick waving over the crowd. Mac pushed through people, wanting to just fall into Nick’s arms and hug him so tight. Smell his aftershave and kiss him hard in front of everyone. It was one of the things he loved about Vegas: there was no judgement in this city. No one frowned on their PDAs, or called them names.

As he pushed through the last of the people, he saw Nick was standing with someone. Someone who was wearing an old worn t-shirt and skinny jeans.

“Jack?” Mac said as he slowed to a stop a few feet away, like a car run out of fuel just before reaching the gas station.

Jack stared back at him from Nick’s side where their hands were clasped tight.

“ _You’re_ Angus?” Jack asked, his mouth still on the floor.

“You’re JW?” Mac asked sceptically, shooting a look at Nick.

Nick nodded, looking confused, his adorable eyebrows trying to meet his hairline, brown eyes wide.

“Oh thank Jesus,” Jack said, letting go of Nick’s hand and taking a step forward.

Mac dropped his bag, forgetting there was a laptop in it, and stepped up to meet Jack, taking his cheeks in his hands and kissing him hard.

There were a few whoops from the crowd around them. Mac didn’t care.

Jack’s arms snaked around his waist, pulling him in tight.

Mac opened his mouth to Jack, tasting the stale flight air and morning breath and not caring at all. He let his arms go around Jack’s shoulders and slipped his tongue into Jack’s mouth.

They stayed locked together like that, tasting each other, feeling each other, and Mac never wanted it to end.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Nick’s voice was soft and near. “I think I missed one helluva flight.”

Mac and Jack broke apart laughing. Mac let his head fall back as he laughed loud and long. Jack kept him held close, chuckling and nuzzling against his throat.

“Naw,” Jack said. “Just a Christmas miracle is all.”


End file.
